Ten years ago i was the commencement speaker for the first
graduating class of aspiring women entrepreneurs from WEDCO
(Women's Enterprise Development Corp., then called AWED). When
WEDCO recently celebrated its 10th birthday, it reminded me how far
we've come in a relatively short 10 years. Not just
entrepreneurial women, but all entrepreneurs.

In 1992 we were suffering from a devastating recession that
flung millions of corporate managers out of America's bigger
businesses and onto the streets. Desperately seeking employment,
many found refuge in business ownership-likely thinking
entrepreneurship would tide them over until the recession broke.
Eventually, the recession did break. And the economy got much
better. But a funny thing happened: Those refugees realized they
liked being entrepreneurs, so they didn't return from whence
they came. Instead, they invested more energy, money and time in
the businesses they'd started. Many of those businesses are
still standing, larger and more sophisticated than they were, a
testimony to the courage of the entrepreneurs who founded them.

Those of you with businesses today have a lot to thank those
entrepreneurs for. They not only helped America escape the
recession, they also made it safe for you to enter their world.

As the first WEDCO graduates can attest, entrepreneurial life
was quite different 10 years ago. It was far more difficult to
start and grow a business. Money was nearly impossible to find;
employees didn't want to work for small, untested businesses;
and few people had even heard of entrepreneurs.

While that may sound like a case of "the more things
change, the more they stay the same," it's not. Yes, money
is tight again, and trained employees are relatively hard to come
by. But entire industries have been built to cater to
entrepreneurs' needs. Credit card companies, banks, technology
manufacturers, office supply stores and many other businesses court
you. Millions of people respect and envy you. Children yearn to
grow up and be like you.

We're experiencing a blip in our prosperity. Maybe it's
to remind ourselves that we have to work very hard to succeed (a
lesson many in the past few years seem to have forgotten or never
learned). But it is only a blip. Hopefully you've learned from
the recent downturn-gotten smarter about how you manage your money,
tightened your operations, and found cheaper yet more effective
ways to market your business.

What I hope you never forget is the hope you had when you
started out. Just like that first class of WEDCO graduates, you
entered the entrepreneurial world with dreams and aspirations. Most
of you have not only achieved what you set out to do, you've
surpassed your expectations.

At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna, let me repeat the
words I spoke 10 years ago and still speak today: If you dream and
if you persist, all things are possible.